


i can see you're wondering

by Klaroline



Category: Smallville
Genre: F/F, Mild Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klaroline/pseuds/Klaroline
Summary: "Fine, I guess I'll treat your wounds. I don't like you, I just don't want you to bleed on the carpet."
Relationships: Lois Lane/Tess Mercer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	i can see you're wondering

Lois gets to the office late, the wound in her head throbs slightly, more annoying than painful. As she steps up to her desk Clark gives her a worried look, but she smiles reassuringly. Her smile quickly freezes when she sees Tess studying her intently, like she might uncover something interesting if she looks hard enough. Tess meets her eyes, having completely abandoned the conversation she'd been in the middle of when Lois walked in.

"What is that?" Her voice cuts through the air, and the others in earshot glance up, quietly curious.

Lois tilts her head, trying her best to hide the wound (and the small trickle of blood). "What?" Oh, so eloquent, truly deserving of a reporter.

Tess' eyes narrow. "My office." She turns on her heel, leaving the man she'd been speaking to looking confused.

Lois sighs, and grimaces at Clark. Can you be fired for coming in to work with a head wound? She ponders the question as she follows Tess to her office.

"Close the door." Tess doesn't even look up as she enters, rummaging through one of her desk drawers.

Lois closes the door, and Tess straightens, placing items for wound-dressing on the desk in front of her.

"Somehow I'm not surprised you have this stuff in your work desk." Lois shakes her head, in disbelief, except she's really not surprised.

Tess hums. "Thank you."

She gestures towards her own chair. Lois hesitates for a second, she's really not sure why. Seems weird to sit on the other side of the desk, she supposes.

"Sit." Tess orders, and Lois shakes the feeling. She crosses the room as Tess wets a cloth.

Lois sits down, and Tess spins the chair around to fix it in place, trapping it (and Lois) between the desk and her body.

Tess leans over her, and Lois' eyes dart down, and up again. She involuntarily shrinks back just a little and Tess bites back a smirk. Two fingers grip Lois' chin gently.

The fingers tilt her head up carefully and Tess cleans the trail of blood from the side of Lois' face. Her eyes are focused, but then meet Lois' for a second. Lois swallows involuntarily, and Tess' attention shifts back to the wound. Her mouth tilts up in the smallest grin. Lois is just about to speak (to say what?) as Tess dabs the wound. She winces instead.

Lois just sits, quietly, for a minute. When the silence finally becomes a bit too heavy Lois tries to lift it with words, any words.

"Alright, either I entered an alternate reality when I hit my head, or you also hit your head on the way to work and somehow turned nicer." Lois jokes. Then she pauses and genuinely considers both options.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised either way." She concludes, and Tess laughs quietly. Not really a laugh, more like, an amused exhale.

"Well, I can tell you it's not the second one. I've always been this nice." Lois makes a noncommittal noise in disagreement, and Tess grins.

Tess' fingers still linger on Lois' chin, subtle pressure as her eyes scan the wound.

"You're surprisingly gentle." It's just a bit too close to a whisper, sounds a little too breathless.

"Oh, I can be gentle. On occasion." Tess' grin turns familiarly suggestive.

Lois scoffs. It's a reflex more than anything. She's kind of glad to enter familiar territory.

"So, what happened?" Tess hand moves from her chin to move a few strands of hair out of the way. "Face-planted onto the sidewalk?"

Lois wants to scoff again, but, well. "Walked into a pole." She grumbles, barely audible.

"Louder, please." Lois rolls her eyes, satisfied when Tess shakes her head, acknowledging that she noticed.

Still, she does repeat it. "I walked into a pole." Tess' smirk is response enough and Lois groans.

"Shut up."

Tess holds her hands up defensively (the bloodied cloth held in one). "Didn't say anything."

"I can _taste_ your amusement from here."

"Well, I'm pretty close, so that's not saying much." Lois pouts, though she stops immediately when she sees Tess' amused expression.

Tess leaves the cloth on the desk and returns to the drawer to look through it.

She comes back to dress the wound, leaning closer again. Lois' hands settle on her own thighs, smoothing the skirt. Tess starts securing gauze over the wound. She's still so gentle, Lois' fingers twitch against her thighs.

Tess holds her hair back. "Hold this," she instructs, and Lois does.

Tess finishes securing the gauze, and Lois studies Tess while she does. She's never seen her this...relaxed? Relaxed but focused, like she's going through familiar motions. Her lips part slightly as she concentrates, and Lois' eyes dart down, just a little.

"Why are you helping me?" It's genuine curiosity. They don't have an actively hostile relationship, though it skirts that territory on occasion. Really it seems to swing between annoyance and flirtation. This kind of interaction is new territory, a different situation to adapt to.

"Don't want you getting blood all over the office. Might scare people off." Tess smooths over the wound, careful, but firm.

Lois smiles slightly. "With all the sharks in Metropolis I'm sure it'd just attract more."

"Touché." Tess stays slightly leaned over, and Lois meets her eyes again.

"But really, why?" Tess lets out a small laugh and fixes part of Lois' hair over the dressed wound. Then she straightens and steps back, and Lois is a little disappointed by it. Just a bit.

"Who knows?" Tess looks her up and down, and Lois tilts her head, grinning.

Tess scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Get out of my chair before my hospitality wears off."

Lois lets out a laugh, but does get up.

"Well, if I need someone to patch me up I know where to go." Lois smiles sweetly just to top it off.

Tess narrows her eyes. "Unless you're bleeding out I will kick you out of the building myself."

"Yes, sir." Mock salute. Lois gets to the door before Tess speaks again.

"Oh, and if you're late again I will fire you."

Lois turns back and grins. "You'd miss me too much." She quickly ducks out of the office before Tess can reply. She walks back to her desk, overall satisfied by her morning.

In her office, Tess clears her desk. Maybe she stares at her chair for a bit too long, lost in thought. She sits down and tries to shake the residual feelings clinging to the inside of her chest.


End file.
